


When you're by my side

by Ra_chelB



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Homesick, Homesickness, Johnica - Freeform, Loneliness, Married Couple, Pregnancy, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-29 00:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21400894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ra_chelB/pseuds/Ra_chelB
Summary: 1977, Queen are touring in America for their new album News of the World. Everything is going right, but Deaky feels homesick and misses his family a lot.Based on some pics of NOTW John holding Robert, that episode when he cut his arm and some interviews where he says he loves to bring his family on tour.
Relationships: John Deacon/Veronica Tetzlaff
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	When you're by my side

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language so please tell me if you find some errors, that'd help me a lot! Also check the drawing I did while writing this fic > https://eileen-crys.tumblr.com/post/188998426317/when-youre-by-my-side-lately-i-was-feeling-very
> 
> And take a look at my art on instagram: ra_rachel.b  
Thank you!

The plane landed perfectly on time, no turbulences or any kind of problem during the flight. Except the lack of sleep, of course.

Robert's short legs struggled to follow Veronica, who was holding him in a hand and the heavy trolley with the other, her only thought for a cozy bed and a long night of rest. She did want to see John of course, but damn, she never travelled for so long while expecting before and couldn't imagine it could be so draining.

"Mommy, slower…" Robert whined, stumbling on his feet, so she stopped.

"I'm sorry honey, we're almost arrived, Ratty is waiting for us." She unsteadily kneeled in front of him and kissed his forehead.

"Can hold me, pwease?" He asked, visibly tired. Ronnie's heart sank in her chest.

"You're heavy, Rob, I don't have enough strength to lift you up right now… can you do the final effort?" 

"Yes, but slow…" he stared at his feet and his mom gave another kiss on his curly hair.

The last five minutes of walk seemed an eternity, when finally they saw a young, long haired guy holding a sign:  _ "Veronica and Robert Deacon - QUEEN"  _

"'ATTY!" Robert squealed and, finding some fresh energy, ran towards Ratty and hugged his legs. 

"Hey, young man! Did you take care of your mom?" He asked while taking Ronnie's baggage and leaving a couple of kisses on her cheeks. Robert nodded with a fierce pout on his face.

"Maerica is so big!!!" He squealed, widening his arms in a gesture that made Ratty laugh out loud.

"He's been a good boy, but also kept me awake most of the flight… he's super excited, but now I'm tired." She chuckled, trying to minimise. 

Peter helped them adjusting on his car, securing Robert to a baby seat and taking care of Ronnie's growing belly. As soon as Robert sat in the car, he fell fast asleep.

The trip from the airport to the hotel where Queen was staying those days was around half an hour long and Ratty entertained Veronica telling her about the band's tour. 

"You know, Deaky is quite nervous these days, he grew very restless and worried for you for some reason, I mean, I've rarely seen him so frustrated… he's missing you a lot." 

"Yeah I know… I'm sure he got worse after the chat we had some days ago on the phone…" she trailed off. "I hope this didn't ruin his performances on stage."

"Oh no, he always plays perfectly. Well, in the last couple of gigs he was a bit lost in his own world, but nothing too bad. Though off the stage he seems like a caged lion." 

Ronnie looked at her hands, thinking about the last phone calls.

_ 'The american tour is going to last longer than we planned, we had to add some dates because it was all sold out…' _

_ 'It's good news, John, then why you sound so sad?' _

_ A pause. _

_ 'I miss you, Vee.'  _

_ 'I miss you too, Johnny…' _

_ 'You know, I was looking to buy a house here in America, in Los Angeles maybe, or Boston… so you can… you can stay here while we tour and record. With the kids.' _

_ His heart skipped a bit at the last word.  _ Kids _ . Robert's younger brother, or sister, wasn't even born yet and John was already planning everything for them; his family was growing bigger and he couldn't bare to live knowing they were stuck on the other side of the globe, too far from him. _

_ 'It's a wonderful idea, honey.' He could imagine Veronica's smile at the phone and relaxed a bit.  _

_ 'Glad you like it. We could move in after the european tour, the guys and me plan to record the next album here in the US.'  _

_ 'Sounds great!'  _

_ 'Ronnie, I was thinking…' his voice got darker once again. _

_ 'Yes?' _

_ 'I… uhm, since we'll be here for two weeks longer… it makes a bit more than a month from now…' _

_ '... want me to take a plane and join you?'  _

_ He shouldn't have been so surprised of her mind-reading abilities. _

_ 'Well, yes, that's exactly what I was about to ask…' _

_ 'And I was just waiting for you to do it.' She chuckled.  _

_ 'Are you sure? I mean, you're… you're pregnant, I don't want you to get hurt or something. You've never took the plane with Rob.'  _

_ Another pause, this time from her. He was right, but it shouldn't be a problem. _

_ 'Ronnie? You still there?' _

_ 'Yes, yes, I was just thinking…'  _

_ 'I'm not forcing you, we can… I don't know, figure out something else, I can wait.' _

_ Veronica got from his voice that yes, he would never force her, but no, he couldn't wait to see her again. But she had to be honest.  _

_ 'I'll tell you, John, this bean in my belly is making me sick less often now, but I'm still a bit worried about doing such a long flight alone with Rob…'  _

_ John swallowed hard from the other side of the phone.  _

_ 'You- you will fly in first class, I'll do everything possible to let you travel in safety.' His voice shaken. _

_ Veronica, on the other side, pondered the idea. Of course he would give his own life to make them be safe and she actually wanted to join her husband.  _

_ 'John, I… I'd love to come, but... can I have a couple of days to think about it?' _

_ 'Of course, love. Please call me.'  _

_ 'Sure!' _

_ 'Stay safe. I love you.' _

_ 'You too, I love you so much.'  _

It just took Ronnie just a restless and lonely night to decide... but five days to plan the flight and prepare the bags, five days of pure anxiety and hormones in overdrive, with an hyperactive child thrilled to take the plane and go to America running all around the house.

Finally, Ratty parked the car next to the hotel and helped them again with the luggages, while Ronnie held Rob on her hip, his head bobbing up and down trying to stay awake to see America and miserably failing.

They got to John's suite, which was right between Brian's and the band's main assistants', Ratty, Crystal and Phoebe. A safe place with a big bed for John and her and a smaller one in a corner, for the kid.

"So… I have an appointment with the crew now now so I gotta go, if you want to eat something the hotel has a restaurant, you can have dinner there." 

"Thanks Ratty, but I think we'll just stay here for a quick shower and a rest."

"Sure, you deserve it. I think John will be back in a couple of hours." 

"Okay! Thanks again. Robert, say bye to Ratty!" She lifted up her son. 

"Bye bye!" He clenched his fingers to say hello and nuzzled against Veronica's shoulder. 

"Bye little man, sleep well! Bye Ronnie!" 

\---

John opened the door of his room chuckling at Roger, who was mocking him for his disadventure, followed by the other two bandmates. He was too high on painkillers to get offended, and they weren't really being mean.

As soon as he stepped in, he saw a new luggage in the hallway and shushed his friends with a gesture. At first confused, they quickly got what was going on by seeing the huge, bright smile that rose on John's face. 

"Ratty didn't tell me they arrived!" Freddie whispered.

"I didn't know as well!" Deaky was absolutely thrilled. "I thought they'd arrive tomorrow!" 

"She must be tired, we should let her rest…" Brian added while closing the door as silently as possible. 

The bassist got further in his hotel's bedroom, followed by his companions, and quickly his left hand went to cover his mouth in awe. 

He felt his heart melting in his chest, that warm sensation that he always felt with her, and now with  _ them _ , and, God, he loved that sensation so much he thought he'd die without it. The pain in his right arm was soon forgotten, his body no longer tired for the hard touring and dizzy because of the meds. This was all he needed now.

John turned with teary eyes to the other three.

"It's... the most beautiful sight I've ever seen…" he said with cracked voice.

Roger, Freddie and Brian climbed one on the other to look at what hit Deaky so much and all of them softened. 

Veronica was sleeping on the bed, above the covers, just wearing a shirt and underwear, with her hair messily tied back, now drying after a shower, some strands gently falling over her peaceful face. Robert was cuddled to her chest and fast asleep, one of Ronnie's arms wrapped around his tiny body to keep him close while the other was resting on her belly, that slowly rose up and down along with her breaths. They've been both clearly destroyed by the flight and by the jet-lag, collapsed on the bed just after finding the time to at least take a shower, not even tell anyone they were arrived. 

"They're all yours, mate, take your time!" Roger fondly stroked John's shoulder and headed out the room, followed by Brian. 

"You're so lucky, darling." Fred gazed up at John, getting a nod in response. He was so happy to see his best friend finally glowing up after days of gloom.

"We'll meet tomorrow for breakfast, can't wait for Robert to meet everyone." He promised, smiling at his son curled up next to Veronica.

"Sounds great!" The singer gave a firm pat on the bassist's back and smirked. "See you tomorrow, Johnny!" 

"Sure!" He smiled as he watched Freddie walking out his room. 

When the door clicked, he slowly sat on the bed, warmth filling his lungs. He felt a bit guilty for asking her to come to America while being four months pregnant and with another two-years-old kid to carry, but the tour was draining him and he was growing homesick and worried for her day by day, almost unable to focus on anything else. Sure her pregnancy was going on without problems and Robert was a rather quiet kid, so she didn't hesitate much on taking the plane to cross the Atlantic, but John still felt completely responsible of her tiredness and wanted to take care of their little family as much as he could. 

He moved a couple of hair strands from Veronica's eyes and leaned on to kiss her forehead. 

As the warmth of his lips met her skin, she lazily opened her eyes to join his. 

"Hi." John whispered with a loving smile.

"Hi…" it was all she managed to let out before dozing off again, too tired to keep her eyes open. But she saw him, even if just for a moment, and that was enough to let her rest feeling way better. Like home.

John decided to not wake her up yet, so he began unpacking the luggage, taking out some clean clothes for her and Robert to wear the next morning and stacking them in the wardrobe. The band still had a couple of nights to spend in that hotel before moving to another city, so it was pointless to keep all the clothes in the bags. 

While closing the wardrobe, the cut in his hand sent a sudden shock of pain all along his arm and he cursed through his teeth. 

_ "Fuck!" _

Almost a whisper, but enough to wake her up. 

"John?" She shifted on the pillows, caring to not wake up Robert.

He sat again on the bed and caressed her messy hair. "Sorry Vee, didn't mean to wake you up." Her hand went to squeeze his left one. 

"How was the flight?" He carried on.

But she switched the topic, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the huge bandage all around his right arm. "What happened? Ratty didn't tell me-" 

"Oh, this? Nothing, really…" he trailed off as if it wasn't a big deal. "I cut myself with glass." 

Her stare told him to carry on and give a proper explanation, and he failed to resist.

"Fine… three days ago I was a bit tipsy when I got back in my hotel room after a gig and- uh, I lost balance and slipped in the shower, y' know, I broke the glass wall trying not to fall on my arse. Got a cut on my hand and another long cut around the arm." His cheeks flushed red as he remembered Ratty's terrified face when he found him naked and half covered in blood, the worried expressions of his bandmates and the embarrassing moment when he had to tell the doctor he actually…  _ slipped _ in the shower and punched the glass wall.

He rubbed the back of his head, looking away. "19 stitches. But I'm fine, there's no damage to muscles or tendons, I can take off part of the bandage and play the bass decently enough... with some painkillers running in my body." 

If she weren't pregnant, she'd just have checked if he was really ok and taken care of him, but the mix of hormones and jet-lag was really hitting her hard right now and she couldn't help but letting tears fill her eyes thinking about his pain.

"Hey, Ronnie!" John cupped her cheek, wiping away her tears with the thumb. "I'm okay, seriously. Don't worry." 

She nodded. "Sorry, I'm fine… I know you're ok, but please take care of yourself…" 

"I will." He promised, then leaned in to kiss her and she melted into his lips. 

They felt like every second of that kiss could erase a day far from each other and John became soon more eager, unable to stay away from his wife anymore. She was still drained by the long travel, but she missed him so much as well…

Then she let out a whimper of pain that broke the kiss. Still cuddled to her chest, Robert shifted a bit and crushed one of her breasts with his elbow, heavy enough to almost hurt her. He didn't wake up, anyway. 

"You're all right?" 

"Yeah, my boobs are growing again, but your son is becoming heavy." She joked. 

John went on the other side of the mattress, and ignoring the pain in his arm, carefully lifted Robert from his mom's embrace and tugged him into his own bed, that was on the other side of the room, and put his favourite plush in his arms. The boy opened his eyes, still half asleep.

"Papa?"

"Hey little man. I'm here."

"I'm in Maerica…?"

"Yes, this is America. But you need to sleep now, tomorrow you'll be here again and you'll see everything. Okay?"

"'kay dad…" he whispered and dozed off again, holding his teddy.

After leaving a kiss on Rob's hazel curls, John got back to Ronnie and laid on the bed next to her.

"So, I asked you about the flight…" he began, tugging his nose in the crook of her neck and leaving small kisses.

"Yes, right… it went well. I mean, we were in first class so it was obviously pretty comfy and Robert has been a true angel the whole time, he played quietly with his plushies and we read a couple of books together. He even ate the meal on the plane!" 

John giggled, aware that it was a goal. 

"And you?" He asked after a kiss on her cheek. 

Veronica let out a tired sigh.

"Could've been worse, thank God, but I had a lot of nausea after being on the plane for a while and my back was literally killing me all the time…" 

John gently wrapped his arms around her, leaning on her shoulder.

"Also Robert didn't sleep for long during the flight and I had to keep an eye on him, so I didn't sleep much as well. And his little brother in here didn't help, began moving a lot." She groaned, poking her belly.

"I'm so sorry…" he whispered, his fingers gently running on her rounded womb.

"For what?"

"For asking you to do this long travel… like this." He choked back the knot that was growing in his throat. 

"Don't be… I'm happy to be here, with you and Robert." Her fingers rubbing the back of his head, soothing him. "And I'm happy to know you're happy as well, John."

"I really needed to see you two… almost three. I love you so much, Ronnie, I was going mad without you…" he adjusted himself on the bed to face her better and gazed in her eyes. "...there are so many people surrounding me, but I always feel so lonely. Sometimes even with the guys, I need a moment, a quiet place to be with myself but I can't. I keep thinking about you and Rob." 

Veronica knew it, she was always there to listen to him, allowing him to let everything out. John leaned on her hand when she caressed his face, closing his eyes. Touring was fun, but he wasn't a people person and didn't like being at the center of attention, often it was too much, leading him to lots of stress and sometimes drinking to overcome it. 

"There are days where going around the city or relaxing in front of the tv with Ratty isn't enough. And I was so worried for you. I… I feel so pathetic, I'm not a rockstar." 

Ronnie curled her hand to lift his chin and stared seriously at him.

"Don't say it, John. You're not pathetic, you'll never be. You're amazing, look at what you did! You're in the greatest band of the moment, touring around the world, you built an amp from scratch, wrote beautiful songs and basslines loved by millions of people… and you even had enough time to build a family of your own. You don't have to be always chatty and noisy around people to be great. I love you for who you are for real, Deaky. Quiet, mysterious and sweet." 

Her words and her smile made his heart ache, if her sole presence was enough for him, hearing all of this coming out from her lips was like a charm, a spell that blew away all the clouds in his soul. 

No words could tell how he felt, so he slowly leaned down, their lips meeting again. Veronica was no longer sleepy at this point and deepened the kiss, allowing his tongue to slide in, tasting each other. She quickly gazed at Robert, on the opposite side of the room, to check if he was still asleep: he was curled up in his bedsheets with his chest peacefully rising up and down, hugging tightly his plush. 

They could focus just on themselves for a while. 

Still lost in the kiss, Ronnie began unbuttoning John's shirt, feeling the soft skin on his chest. Short chest hair was beginning to grow and she was thrilled by that new sensation, as much as running her fingers through his new, shorter haircut. 

He went down with a trail of kisses on her jawline, her neck, her collarbone, quickly taking away her shirt, losing himself in her familiar scent, now mixed with the hotel's shampoo. 

"Veronica-" her full name slipping out from his lips sent a shiver through her body.

"Mmh?" Her hum almost a moan.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming here. For making me so happy." He stared at her, a soft smile rising on his lips until his eyes slightly wrinkled. 

With her index, Ronnie slowly traced a line from his forehead down to his nose and stopped on the lower lip, memorizing his features. 

"Anything to see your beautiful smile, my love." 

Nothing else mattered now that she was with him once again, her shapes tangible under his hands and his lips, her voice swifting in his ears. He dove on her once again and Veronica went in with the flow, letting her body heat up with his touch, forgetting about everything else in the world. 

With a quick movement of his left hand, John reached out for the switch next to the bed and turned off the light.


End file.
